Slim Moon founded the Kill Rock Stars label in 1991 because he wanted to “put out my friends’ records because nobody was putting out my friends’ records. And to put out spoken-word 7-inch records. It grew from there.” The roster expanded into a group of outsiders who perhaps did things a little differently to the […]
The Spires continue to do nothing to damage our long-distance relationship. The little band from Ventura, busy like bees on their own Beehouse Records for six-plus years now, make Anglophile-inspired pop with beautifully gnarly guitar tones and reverb that isn’t just there for decoration. “Waves” – the teaser single off a new album coming this […]
This qualifies as a Monster Monday: ‣ Bon Iver plays the first of two L.A. dates, tonight at the Shrine, and equally good, for our money, are tourmates Other Lives, whose album “Tamer Animals” will end up near the top of BBLA’s 2011 lists. ‣ James Blake and Teengirl Fantasy do a second night at […]
Still on that adrenaline high from the Emmys? Join me at midnight tonight on KCSN (88.5 FM) for the L.A. Buzz Bands show, featuring an hour of SoCal-bred tunes and me, sipping caffeinated beverages. Tonight’s show features new music from HoneyHoney, the Spires, Telegram and Correatown, as well as recent 2011 favorites Army Navy, Apex […]
Your Sunday touts: ‣ Folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling (who earned a Mercury Prize nomination for each of her two previous albums) plays the first of her two sold-out L.A. shows at Masonic Lodge. Her haunting melodies from her third album, “A Creature I Don’t Know,” will nicely complement mystique of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery grounds. […]
Saturday’s spread: ‣ The Roots do a Pre-Emmy Jam at the sold-out House of Blues. ‣ Lobsterfest continues at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro with a full day of music, including the Damselles & the TC 4 (1 p.m.), Judson McKinney (2), Deap Vally (3), Light FM (4), Eastern Conference Champions (5), […]
Today’s Buzz Bands LA show on Moheak Radio will offer a little bit of everything – music new and almost-new, local and almost-local, ambient and electro, retro and futuristic. Yes, I’m feeling conflicted today, what with a weekend full of shows, festivals and lobster ahead. But you can count on hearing new sounds from newbies […]
Back in July, we updated you on Van Pierszalowski of the late (and possibly lamented) NoCal indie band Port O’Brien. Pierszalowski moved to Norway for a while, charted a new musical course and, presto, Waters was born. Waters’ debut album “Out in the Light” comes out next week, came out this week, and the flow […]
Vancouver garage-rockers the Pack A.D. have always been one duo whose bite has lived up to their bark. For their first three albums – most notably 2010’s “We Kill Computers” – singer-guitarist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller cultivated the gnashing blues of the White Stripes and the Black Keys. They’ve kept their fourth album, […]
Robert DeLong seems like one of those kids beamed here from a future world where all threads of music have been stitched together into some kind of vibrant cloth. His hybrid of electronica samples from pop, folk, house, dubstep and glitch – he’s finishing up an album titled “Just Movement” and working in the studio […]
